Hokie ClubSUNDAY, MARCH 5 at 6:15 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Following winning the Ally ACC Tournament title, Virginia Tech women's basketball had three players make the All-Tournament Team, including guard Georgia Amoore (first team), center Elizabeth Kitley (first team) and forward Taylor Soule (second team).
Amoore, the tournament's MVP, averaged 21.7 points per game, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists during the three games. She made a tournament-record 14 3-pointers and was 11 for 12 from the free-throw line (91.7%).
The ACC Player of the Year, Kitley recorded 16.7 points per game, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. She shot 51.2 percent from the field and averaged 35.3 minutes per game.
Soule, despite being in foul trouble a couple games, logged 10.0 points per game, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. In her 25.5 minutes per game, she shot a team-high 61.1 percent and swiped three steals.
Tech will now await its seed in the NCAA Tournament, which will be unveiled on Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET. The team will have a watch party for fans at Cassell Coliseum, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the event beginning at 7:30 p.m. Be the first to know about when the team hosts first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament.
SUNDAY, MARCH 5 -- 4:51 P.M. ET
Head coach Kenny Brooks, along with Georgia Amoore and Elizabeth Kitley, met with the media following Tech's ACC Tournament title win over Louisville Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Kenny Brooks
(Opening statement) "I'm so proud. So proud to be associated with this group, this university, this athletic program. The resiliency that these kids showed throughout the year, the support that we got from Hokie Nation all year long. I knew when these kids came and they committed to us, I knew eventually we were going to be playing for different things, and they proved me right.
They worked diligently every day. The two kids to my left are probably the most perfectionist people I've ever seen, and they've always believed in themselves.
We don't have McDonald's All-Americans, we have kids who come in, and they work, they work, they work. Liz has proven that she's the best player in the league. Georgia has proven that she's the most important. Together their friendship, just the camaraderie with this group, allows us to go out and compete on the highest level.
Watching everything come to fruition, I sold them both a vision, they went out and they executed it. We said we'd be here. We said we would be here, and we never wavered. It didn't matter who we were playing, and we proved that we were one of the elite teams in the country. I'm so excited.
As far as the game is concerned, they all played well. They all played well.
Normally you can talk about this or that, somebody stepped up, Georgia had 25, Liz had 20, but they all did something very special.
Cayla King scored four points, and she did a phenomenal job on Hailey Van Lith, phenomenal. Taylor Soule didn't play a lot in the first half, but her energy in the second half, she chased around some of the guards. Everybody played well. D'asia Gregg played well, Kayana Traylor played well, Taylor Geiman gave us really good minutes. These kids, they're on a string. They're on a string. They're connected on both ends of the floor. We're not just an offensive team, we're a defensive team, and defense wins championships.
We said we were going to be here. I also want to give a shout out to my man Shawn Poppie. He won a championship today. He won a championship today. I talked to him earlier, and I was like, did you ever imagine we'd be thousands of miles away playing for a championship on the same day? So he and I talked a little bit, so I'm sure he's left me a message. I can't wait to talk to him.
I'm very, very happy for these kids. It's a big family. It's a family and they deserve it, so I'm very excited about what they've done, and I'm excited about what we can do."
Guard Georgia Amoore
(On what it means to win an ACC Tournament championship) "I don't even know, like it really hasn't sunk in. I'm sure in the next week when we have spring break and we don't have anything to do, I'm going to be really thinking about it.
But it's so good. It's so good for Virginia Tech and the women's program. It's so good for Coach Brooks. He's my Coach of the Year. He always will be. He's done so much for us, so much for the team. Just look at the program. Like it's just on an upward trend, and I think it's really solidified what he's doing and it's solidified Virginia Tech as a legit contender. And I'm super proud of that because we deserve the respect."
Center Elizabeth Kitley
(On winning the ACC Tournament in her home state) "It's really cool. My family has always showed up for me. They haven't missed a game this year besides Bahamas, so I'll give them that. My aunts flew in, people from high school came. We had a ton of people in maroon and orange, and it felt like a home game at times, and I think that benefitted us and gave us a lot of energy. It's really cool to win the whole thing in front of all your loved ones."
SUNDAY, MARCH 5 -- 3:05 p.m. ET
The Virginia Tech women's basketball team made history Sunday afternoon in the Greensboro Coliseum, defeating Louisville 75-67 to claim its first ACC Tournament title. Georgia Amoore collected 25 points and Elizabeth Kitley added 20 to lead the Hokies to the tournament crown and clinch an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Hokies (27-4) entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated Miami (Fla.), Duke and Louisville en route to a league tournament championship.
Tech's defense was fantastic yet again, holding Louisville shooters to only 37.3 percent from the field. The Hokies also kept Hailey Van Lith to 4-of-17 shooting in the game behind a stellar effort from Cayla King.
SUNDAY, MARCH 5 at 1:48 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball has kept its momentum going from the past two days in Greensboro Coliseum, as it leads Louisville 38-28 in the Ally ACC Tournament championship game.
Jumping out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter, center Elizabeth Kitley started hot by scoring Tech's first six points. She finished the first half with 14 points and two rebounds.
Amoore picked up where she left off yesterday, with owning 14 points and four assists, including this impressive step-back 3-pointer in the second quarter.
Tech is shooting 50 percent from the field and has been able to get to the rim, recording 11 free-throw attempts and making 10 (90.9%). Louisville on the other hand is shooting 35.5 percent from the field.
SUNDAY, MARCH 5 at 8 a.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Hokies (26-4) will play in the Ally ACC Tournament championship game for the first time in program history Sunday and will face Louisville (23-10) at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
TV: The contest will be made available on ESPN, with Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) and Angel Gray (sideline) on the call.
Streaming: Fans can tune in to the ESPN app.
Live Audio: Listen to live audio coverage of the matchup at HokieSports.com/Watch in the HokieSports mobile app.
Live Stats: Monitor the game through live stats on HokieSports.com, including play-by-play updates and full team and individual statistics.
Stay Connected with Tech Women's Basketball
Social Media: Stay connected with the Hokies on Twitter (@HokiesWBB), Instagram (@HokiesWBB) and Facebook (@HokiesWBB).
Postseason Info: The Hokies are expected to be playing at home during the postseason. Stay in the know to get the latest news once it is announced.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4 at 8 a.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Following its win over Duke Saturday, head coach Kenny Brooks and select Virginia Tech women's basketball players met with the media for a postgame press conference.
Head coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement:
"Very proud of our kids. Obviously a little bit of adversity in the beginning, unorthodox start, to say the least. We've been there, done that. When we were at Tennessee, playing in the game, shot clock went out, we had like a 15-minute delay, had to keep our composure, so this kind of prepared us for that.
But I was very proud of the kids. Duke is a very good basketball team, one of the best defensive teams in the country. They make you play on your heels a lot, but ever since our loss to them in Durham, we've played a different style. We've been physical on both ends of the floor, running through our passes, getting to our spots. Tonight was no different. We knew we had to be that way. Very proud of them.
It wasn't pretty all the time, but I think that's the way they make the game. But we had some really good performances and a very balanced attack. But I thought Georgia hit some big shots for us making six three-pointers to really put us over the edge.
Not done yet. Very happy to be in the championship game, but our goal is to win a championship, so excited to get back and prepare for what's to come tomorrow."
Guard Cayla King
On Virginia Tech making its first-ever appearance in the ACC Tournament title game:
"I think it's just fun to see what this team can do. We continued to break multiple records in the regular season, so now it's time to see what we can do postseason, and I think this team has potential to do some damage in the postseason."
Center Elizabeth Kitley
On Virginia Tech making its first-ever appearance in the ACC Tournament title game:
"It's really cool, when I first got to Tech, Coach Brooks talked about this a lot, but we were hoping to win. We needed stuff to go our way to get this far, but it's really nice to be at the point where we expect to win these games, and we're really looking forward to tomorrow. And we've played them before, we're familiar with each other. It's the third game for both teams, so it's really just going to be whoever pushes the hardest. But we want this really bad, so we're all really excited for it."
SATURDAY, MARCH 4 at 4:45 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Picking up a 21-point victory of No. 13 Duke in the Ally ACC Tournament semifinals, No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball used its 58-37 win to advance to the ACC tournament title for the first time in school history.
Guard Georgia Amoore played lights out, with being the lone player to crack double-digits for points (24) and racking up six 3-pointers to tie her career high.
For the complete recap.
Tech will face Louisville, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN Sunday.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4 at 3:45 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball got out to an early lead and has held that so far against No. 13 Duke in the semifinals of the Ally ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum Saturday, leading 36-18 at halftime.
Feeling it from downtown, the Hokies (25-4) racked up seven 3-pointers, including four from guard Georgia Amoore. Defensively, Tech has held the Blue Devils (25-5) to shooting just 25.9 percent from the field.
Amoore has 16 points and six assists, while star center Elizabeth Kitley has four points and six rebounds.
Tech finished the second quarter in a 17-0 run.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4 at 8 a.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Hokies (25-4) will play in the semifinals for the second year in a row and will face No. 13 Duke (25-5) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
Tech has won five of its last seven against the Blue Devils, but is 0-4 all-time versus the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, which is what the Blue Devils are. It marks Tech's second straight ACC Tournament semifinal. It faced NC State a year ago.
TV: The contest will be made available on ACC Network, with Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) and Angel Gray (sideline) on the call.
Streaming: Fans can tune in to the ESPN app.
Live Audio: Listen to live audio coverage of the matchup at HokieSports.com/Watch in the HokieSports mobile app.
Live Stats: Monitor the game through live stats on HokieSports.com, including play-by-play updates and full team and individual statistics.
Stay Connected with Tech Women's Basketball
Social Media: Stay connected with the Hokies on Twitter (@HokiesWBB), Instagram (@HokiesWBB) and Facebook (@HokiesWBB).
Postseason Info: The Hokies are expected to be playing at home during the postseason. Stay in the know to get the latest news once it is announced.
FRIDAY, MARCH 3 at 10:45 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Following its win over Miami (Fla.) Friday, No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball met with the media for a postgame press conference. For the full transcription.
Head coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement:
"I'm not going to be long. We need to get home and get some rest. But phenomenal defensive effort from our group. They've been playing really, really good defense last month or two months of the season, and I thought they were really locked in, they were focused.
They're connected. They're very connected with each other and what's going on on both ends of the floor. Very, very pleased with what they're doing, and they looked good. I'm very, very proud of them.
To avenge a loss, Miami beat us in Miami, Miami is a very good basketball team who I think has possibilities to advance in the tournament. Katie does a tremendous job, and for us to come back out and play the way we did today, we knew that we were a better team than had faced them at the first of the year, and we wanted to be able to come out and show it. So very good start for us, and very proud of our kids."
Center Elizabeth Kitley
On it being the team's ninth win in a row and the steady improvement taking place:
"I think we really found our defense again. I think in the middle of ACC play we kind of lost that a bit. Like you said, we weren't playing together or communicating very well, but once we made that a focus again, I think we've been playing a lot better and more together and just a lot more connected. And that gives us better offensive looks and energy on that end."
Forward Taylor Soule
On when she had that lightbulb moment and how her play has transpired forward since:
"I think after Coach and I had the talk, it was definitely really honest just about goals and where I want to be as an individual and where I want to help this team. So I think offensively just getting to my spots, being more confident, getting workouts in and film with him.
Just working smarter, not so hard. And my teammates have a lot of confidence in allow me so I can knock down shots and get to the basket. It's working well, but definitely got to thank these two."
FRIDAY, MARCH 3 at 10:15 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball turned in its largest margin of victory in an ACC Tournament game, cruising past Miami (Fla.) 68-42 on Friday at Greensboro Coliseum.
Tech (25-5) had three players pull down double-digit rebounds, including D'asia Gregg (13 rebounds), Elizabeth Kitley (10) and Taylor Soule (10). Kitley, the two-time ACC Player of the Year, racked up a game-high 22 points and also swatted four shots.
The Hurricanes (19-12) could never get going offensively and were held to shooting just 24.1 percent from the field and coughed up 11 turnovers.
The Hokies will play in the semifinals for the second year in a row and will face No. 13 Duke (25-5) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
FRIDAY, MARCH 3 at 9:15 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Coming out firing on all cylinders Friday night, No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball leads Miami (Fla.) 29-15 in the quarterfinals of the Ally ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum.
The Hokies (24-4) got up 10-2 in the first five minutes and ended up being ahead 20-5 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to three 3-pointers by guard Georgia Amoore.
Coming off the bench and contributing in a big way, forward D'asia Gregg racked up nine points and seven rebounds to keep the Hurricanes (19-11) at bay. The 'Canes are shooting only 20.7 percent, while Tech has been able to capitalize on its opportunities, outscoring Miami 12-3 for second-chance points.
FRIDAY, MARCH 3 at 8 p.m.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Beginning its run in the Ally ACC Tournament, No. 8 Virginia Tech women's basketball will take on Miami (Fla.) at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network at Greensboro Coliseum.
TV: The contest will be made available on ACC Network, with Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) and Angel Gray (sideline) on the call.
Streaming: Fans can tune in to the ESPN app.
Live Audio: Listen to live audio coverage of the matchup at HokieSports.com/Watch in the HokieSports mobile app.
Live Stats: Monitor the game through live stats on HokieSports.com, including play-by-play updates and full team and individual statistics.
Stay Connected with Tech Women's Basketball
Social Media: Stay connected with the Hokies on Twitter (@HokiesWBB), Instagram (@HokiesWBB) and Facebook (@HokiesWBB).
Postseason Info: The Hokies are expected to be playing at home during the postseason. Stay in the know to get the latest news once it is announced.